Botched Spot

Survivor Series! One of the “big four” pay per views! I attended last year’s Survivor Series and really enjoyed the event. The WWE had found a great way to incorporate the main storyline going through Raw and Smackdown (the Authority being jerks) into a traditional Survivor Series elimination match. Unfortunately this year is a return to their normal pay per view format with only one traditional Survivor Series match that doesn’t even have the participants announced yet. I am a fan of tournaments though, and I’m excited to see how the WWE Title Tournament shakes out, even though it seems obvious who the final two competitors in it will be. Let’s see what Survivor Series has in store for us:

Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze

Who will win: Tyler Breeze

Speaking of last year’s Survivor Series, Dolph was the star of the show. Not just like he had a great performance, but he was actually booked as the guy who defeated the Authority! Now? He’s losing to Tyler Breeze in a barely hyped singles match. He was in a rough spot after the whole Summer/Rusev/Lana storyline fell through, and Breeze is great and all, but I think Ziggler deserves to have something a little more developed than this. His recent comment about being done with wrestling in two years makes me think that he’ll be losing this match… and a lot of others.

Charlotte vs. Paige for the Diva’s Championship

Who will win: Charlotte

This match has become more about Paige insulting Charlotte’s brother than it is about the title. Paige’s line about Reid didn’t bother me as much as it did some people because, if nothing else, it gives Charlotte a reason to want to kill Paige. Up until this point Paige has been kind of a nuisance, but nothing more than that. Of course her insult doesn’t make her any more of a threat to Charlotte.

The Brothers of Destruction vs. The Wyatt Family

Who will win: The Brothers of Destruction

This prediction is pretty easy to pick. I mean it’s not like this whole week on the Network has been dedicated to Bray Wyatt! While I don’t know who will be officially participating in the match for the Wyatts (I’m guessing Bray and Braun), I’m sure all of them will get a shot in on Undertaker and Kane, and then get soundly trounced by the Brothers. I originally hoped that it would be a four on four match with Undertaker and Kane finding two allies to help against the Wyatts, but now I realize that anyone else would get completely overshadowed by ‘Taker. Not a good way for Finn Balor or Baron Corbin to debut.

The World Title Series Tournament for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Who will win: Roman Reigns

That’s right, I’m going for the safe bet. I’m fairly confident in picking Ambrose and Reigns to face off in the finals of the tournament, and I think Roman will beat Dean to win it. A lot of this is based on backstage reports for, oh, about the last two years or so that said that Roman will win the title. I don’t think there’s any way that Ambrose will win cleanly without turning heel, and while he may earn the gold through joining the Authority, I don’t think the WWE want Roman feuding with someone who’s ten times more over than he is.

That being said, I expect Sheamus to come out and attack Roman for the title (possibly with the help of the Authority), setting up a new feud for Reigns. I just don’t see the Celtic Warrior walking out with the big gold belt however. If Sheamus cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase right after Roman wins the title it will leave Roman with a one minute long title run- not too impressive for WWE’s next poster boy. Sheamus could also cash in by adding himself to the final match of the tournament and win, but I think that would be too close to the finish of Wrestlemania 31, making it more about Roman’s bad luck when it comes to the Money in the Bank briefcase than anything else. Since I’ve accepted that Roman will win (and honestly I prefer it to Sheamus) I can say that I’m interested to see how everything plays out and who he will feud with for the title.

So that’s Survivor Series 2015! While I’m disappointed by the lack of a traditional elimination match, I think the tournament makes up for it. I think most of it looks pretty good on paper, and if I am wrong and Ambrose turns on Reigns and joins the Authority, I’ll be marking out hard. If not and Roman wins, I’ll still be totally okay with it.